Folding crate



April 26, 1927. 1,626,009

T. J. MURRAY FOLDING CRATE Filed Oct. 2l. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l F" EJE fa :z/ 4;

.1f f j? 40 /4 4/ fa- J' 4/ i /Z zo Y a f7 3 a, /Z 2 .f4 7 i J4' if I Lu J/ E 'L E April 26, 1927. f 1,626,009

T. J. MURRAY FOLDI NG CRATE Filed Oct. 2l, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Apr. 26, 1.927.

UNITED STATES TIMOTHY J. MURRAY, QF COVINGTON, TNDIANA.

FOLDING QRATE.

Application led October 21,1924. Serial No. 744,966.

This invention relates to improvements in collapsible crates or boxes.

The primary object of this invention is the provision of a collapsiblereceptacle, embodying relatively simple and readily detachable means topermit the collapsing of 'the receptacle into compact relation.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a crate orreceptacle, formed of very durable material, which may be easily andcompactly collapsed or extended, and the parts of which are of suchnature that they may be interchanged with other parts, and salvaged inso far as worn out parts of the receptacles are concerned, and used inconnection with other parts.

A further object of this invention is the provision ofa preferablyreticulate collapsible crate, which includes arts which are readilydetachable to permit a crate to be extended or collapsed, and which doesnot embody any loops, hooks, or overhanging eyes, such as conventionallyprovided; the parts of the improved crate being made out of metalmaterials, and being free of Wooden arts.

p A further object of this invention is the provision of a sanitaryreceptacle, the parts of which are standardized and interchangeable.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andwherein similar reference characters designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an improved crate or receptacle,constructed after the principle of this invention, showing the wallsthereof in connected relation, with the top open.

Figure 2 is a perspective'view of the crate illustrated in Figure 1,with the top closed.

Figures 3 and 4 are views showing different collapsed positions of thecrate, by means of which all of the walls of the crate may he inconnected relation,- yet collapsed, to permit a multiplicity of thecrates to be shipped in the compact relation shown.

Figure 5 is an inside perspective vieW of a lower corner of thereceptacle or crate.

Figure 6 is an upper inside fragmentary view of the receptacle and themeans by which the upper corner Wall portions thereof are connected.

Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the manner in which a partitionmay be used in an elongated crate constructed after the princple of thisinvention, and

Figure 8 is a perspective view of an Lipper corner of a crate, showingthe manner in which the walls of the crate may be connected in novelmanner.

ln the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown only apreferred elnbodiment of the invention, the letter A may generallydesignate a crate, which may comprlse a bottom wall 10; side walls 11and l2; rear wall 13; front wall 14; and hinged top 15. The receptacleA, as shown is about square 1n formation, although the same may berectangular, or of any formation known. Each of the walls and the topand bottom of the receptacle A include a rectangular wire frame 20, Withintersecting transverse wires 2l and 22 in the opening of each of theframes 20, of any deslred mesh.

Referring to the manner of connecting the various walls and top andbottom of the receptacle A together, it is to be noted that side bars ofadjacent frames are preferably in abutting parallel relation, and suchparallel adjacent bars are connected in hinged relation, by means ofspiral coils, preferably of wire, which connect the adjacent ends of thewalls in firm relation, so that they may be relatively moved in hingedmanner.

Specifically, the bottom 10 of the receptacle A is connected at the barportions of the frames 20 thereof to the adjacent bar portions of theframe of the side walls 11 and 12 and the rear and front walls 13 andlil by means of spiral coils 25, 26, 27 and 28 respectively. These coils25 to 28 respectively are individual units, and are threaded onto thebar portions of the Vframes 20 of the respective walls as shown, and theends of each of these coils are looped in a complete ring 30, about thetwo bars of the 12 and 13 of the crate, by the springs 26 and 27, sothat the rings 3021 at the ends ot the coils 26 and 27 terminate justshort of the corner formed by the juncture ot' the walls 10, 12 and 13,to prevent accidental removal ot' the hinging coils of the frames whichthey secure. It can readily be understood in what manner these spiralcoils are placed to secure the various walls of the crate together,since they are merely threaded on the frame bars of the walls trom-acorner of the crate, weaving between' the y transverse bars 21 and 22 oteach wall, and

snugly receiving the parallel bars in the passageway through the coils,to permit hinging ot the walls when it is necessary to collapse thecrate.

The adjacent vertical bars of the frames of the side, front, and rearwalls are similarly connected by spiral coils. `The side wall 11 has thevertical side bars of the frame 2O thereof connected respectively to theadjacent vertical bars of the frame 2O of the rear wall 13 and frontwall 14, by means of spiral coil members 30 and 31. ln like manner thevertical bar portions of the frame 20 of the other side wall 12 has theadjacent bar portions of the frames 2O of the rear and front walls 13and 14 of the receptacle A connected thereto, by means of spiral coilmembers 33 and 34. The vertically disposed coil members 30, 31, 33 and34 are threaded upon the parallel bar portions ot the frames which eachof the same connect, from a corner of the crate formed' by the junctureof three walls, and so that the ends of the vertically disposed coilmembers extend outwardly of the margins ot' the trames of said walls.This is so that the ends of said coils may be bent about the trameportions of the bottom and top walls, to more readily secure the wallsof the crate together. Thus, as is illustrated in Figure 5 of thedrawings, the lower end 37 of the vertical coil 33 is extended below thevertical margins of the trames 20 of the walls 12 and 13, about theframes 2O of the bottom wall 10, and is bent to the inside of the crateat the juncture of the walls 10, 12 and 13. As is shown in Figure 1 ofthe drawings the upper ends 39 of the coils 31 and 34, at the front wallportion are extended above the top bar of the frame 2O of the front andside walls 10, 11 and 12, in order that these ends 39 may be bent aboutthe frame portion 20 of the top 15 when the latter is closed on thereceptacle A.

The closure or top 15 is hingedly connected to the -ltop bar of theframe 2O of the rear wall 13, by means of a spiral coil member 40, andwhich coil member 40 at its ends terminates short ot the side walls,with the ends thereof riug.clamped at 41, about the parallel bars ot'the rear wall 13 and to wall 15, to permit the unimpeded hingeilmovement ot the top upon the back wall. The upper ends 39 of thevertical coils 30 and 33 are twisted over the frame portion ot the topwall 15. as shown in Figure l of the drawings, and as is illustrated inthe fragmentary view of Figure 6 of the upper corner ot the crate A,formed by the juncture of the walls 12, 13 and the top 15. It is to benoted that this end 39 is twisted in ring shape about the iframes ot thewalls 13 and 14, to permit the unhampered hinged movement of the top 15upon the wall 13.

As is illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings, the side bar and frontbar portions of the frame 20ct the top 15 are connected to the walls 10,11 and 12 by means of the side coils 45 and 467 and the front coil 47rcspectively. The ends of these coils 45, 46 and 47 are ring clamped at48 about the bars of the frames which they receive therethrough.

From the foregoing discussion of this invention with respect to thecrate A, it is readily apparent that coil members may be threaded overthe frame bars of adjacent wa'lls, to connect said adjacent walls in adurable relation, without loose play, and when all of these coils are inplace to connect the walls, the crate provides a very durablest-ructure. Spiral members are of strong material, and although they maybe flexible, they are amply sufficient to connect the frames of thewalls in a durable and stable relation. The spring units may beindividually disconnected merely twisting the ring clamps to unwind theends thereof, or by cutting the same loose, and the spiral coils maythen be rotatably moved and unthreaded to disconnect the bar portions ofadjacent walls. n this manner defective parts of the crate may bereadily removed, and the crate may be readily collapsed for any numberof times, so that it makes an article particularly desirable for use inthe shipping of various commodities.

The arrangement of walls may be different from that illustrated, and ifdesired the top may be omitted :trom the crate, as when shipping drymeasured materials.

in lieu of the end connections of the iudividual coils, meeting a't thecorners of the crate, as shown and described, the. means of connectionillustrated in Figure 8 may be used, which contemplates the twisting ot'the ends 50 and 51 ot the horizontal coils 52 and 53 with the end 54 ota vertical coil 55; the latter coil being of course twisted about thehorizontal frame ot' an adjacent horizontal wall, according to theprinciple of the inilO vention ab'ove described. The twisted connection56 thus formed by the ends 50, 51 and 54 of the coils shown is bent to aside of the crate, or within the same, as desired. In

order to release any of the coil units it isl merely necessary to clipoff the twisted portion 56 of the coils, or to untwist the same, aspreferred.

In Figures 3 and 4 are shown two means of collapsing the crate.According to the method illustrated in Figure 3, the coil connectingmembers 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the bars of the frame portion 20 of thebottom wall 10 remain in place connected with the side Walls 11 and 12and the rear and front walls 13 and 14 respectively, as shown in thedrawings. The top wall or closure 15 remains connected with the outerbar portion of the frame of the rear wall 13, by means of coil 40, andall other connecting coils are removed, to permit the positioning of allof the walls of the cra'te in the same plane, so that a plurality of thecrates collapsed in such relation may be piled one upon the other andshipped in compact space. Of course, the other coils necessary toconnect the vertical bar portions of the side, rear and front Walls, andthe top wall therewith,l

are supplied.

As to the method of collapsing shown in Figure 4, the vertical coils 30,31, 33 and 34 connecting the side walls 11 and 12 and the rear and frontwalls 13 and 14, rema'in in place. The coil 40 remains in place toconnect the top 15 to the rear wall 13, and also the coil 28 remains inplace to connect the bottom wall 10 to the front wall 14. All othercoils are removed from the crate, and the crate can then be laterallycollapsed with the side wall 11 overlying the rear Wall 13, and thefront Wall 14 overlying the side wall 12. The top and bottom 15 and 10respectively extend outwardly from the walls with which they are abovementioned as being connected, and in this position the walls of thecrate may be folded into substantially the same` compact plane, and anynumber of the crates may be piled in the position shown, for foldedshipping purposes.

'In Figure 7 is shown a somewhat modified form of crate whichillustrates the manner in which a partition wall 60 may be interposed inthe compartment of the crate B, to subdivide the same into twocompartments. This crate B may be said to consist o f-a bottom 61; endWalls 62 and 63; rear wall 64; front wall 65; and top 66 hingedlyconnected to the reticulate frame portion of the rear wall 64. Thepartition Wall 60 is of the structure above mentioned for the walls ofthe crate A, comprising a substantially rectangular frame withinterwoven or meshing cross pieces. It is placed in the pocket orcompartment of the crate B midway between the end Walls-62 and 63, and

parallel therewith, having Ithe vertical bar portions of the framethereof connected with the rear and front walls 64 and 65 respecftively, bymeans of spiral coil members 68 and 69,' in the manner abovedescribed for the crate A and so that the upper and lower ends 70 and 71ofthe coil members 68 and 69 are twisted about the frame portions of thebars of the top and bottom Walls of the crate' B. In the preferredinstance the bottom coil 74 is also provided for connecting the lowerbar of the frame of the partition wall 6() to the frame of thebottom.wall 61 of the crate; the ends of this coil 74 being twisted inring shaped formationabout the frames of the walls 60 and 61 only. The

longitudinal top and bottom bars of the frames of the front and rearwalls 64 and 65, are relatively long, and it is preferred that a pair ofthe coils be used for c'onnecting each bar portion. Thus, for instance,the coils 80 and 81 may be used fonconnecting the closure 66 to the rearwall 64; onefof each of these coils being used at each side of the planeof the partition wall 60; and the ends of these coils 80 and 81beingclamped in ring shaped formation about the frame of the walls 64and 66 only.

From the foregoing discription of this invention it is apparent that anovel type of crate has been provided, which merely includes walls whichare of the same formation, and a single type of connecting member in theform of a spiral coil. The coils are individually provided forconnecting the edge abutments of adjacent walls, and the spiral coilsare threaded about the reticulate framework forming-thev Walls, and attheir ends are clamped to the framework in any preferred relation tosecure the same against accidental detachment. The collapsing orextension of the crates may be readily accomplished, and when extendedin the position for receiving commodities a durable and stable crate isprovided, free of cumbersome or, projecting parts. The crosspieces ofthe walls may be woven, Welded or soldered together, or in fact theWalls may be made of any approved material, just so the frame portionsthereof are sufiicient to permit the threading of the coils for securingthe walls as described. The low cost of production of the crate isapparent.

It will of course be understood that the connecting members are of suchmaterial as to inherently retain their coil shape Whether attached ordetached from the walls.

Various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be madeto the form of the invention herein shown and described, withoutdeparting from the spirit of this mvention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture a collapsible crate comprising a bottom,side Walls, a

ront Wall, and rear wall, and inherently shaped spiral coil membersthreaded through the adjacent ed e portions of said Walls and bottom torigi ly connect the same in detachable relation.

2. As an article of manufacture a frame comprising walls, and spiralcoil members receiving the adjacent marginal portions of said wallsforhingedly connecting said walls, the ends of said spiral coil membersbeing twisted about the adjacent portions of said walls to preventaccidental detachment thereof. j

3. In a folding crate the combination of reticulate Walls includingsubstantially rectangular frames, and spiral coil means connecting theabutting frame portions of adjal'cent walls together to provide a stableboX- like crate.

4. ln a folding crate the combination of a bottom Wall including arectangular Wire frame, side walls and front andv rear walls includingrectangular Wire frames, individual spiral coil members threaded toreceive the adjacent parallel frame portions of the bottom Wall and saidside, rear and front walls to connect said side, rear and front wallsupon said bottom Wall, and individual spiral members connecting theadjacent frame portions of the side Walls with the front and rear wallsto provide a substantially rectangular shaped crate.

5. In a folding crate the combination of a bottom wall including arectangular wire frame, side walls and front and rear walls includingrectangular wire frames, individ ual metal coil members threaded toreceive the adjacent parallel frame portions of the bottom Wall and saidside, rear and front Walls to connect said side, rear and front Wallsupon said bottom Wall, and individual spiral members connecting theadjacent frame portions of the side Walls with the front and rear Wallsto provide a substantially rectangular shaped crate, a top wall, and aspiral coil member connecting the top Wall to an upper portion of theframe of said rear wall.

6. In a folding crate the combination of a bottom Wall including arectangular wire frame, side walls and front and rear Walls includingrectangular Wire frames, individual spiral coil members threaded toreceive the adjacent parallel frame portions of the bottom wall and saidside, rear and front walls to connect said side, rear and front wallsupon said bottom wall, individual spiral members connecting the adjacentframe portions of the side Walls with the front and rear Walls toprovide a substantially rectangular shaped crate, a top wall, a spiralcoil member connecting the top Wall to an upper portion of the frame ofsaid rear wall, and spiral coil members for the top portions oftheframes of said side and front walls for connecting the adjacent portionsof the top wall thereto to provide 'an inclosed crate. j

7. A collapsible crate comprising wire walls providin rectangular shapedframes With straight gar portions, and detachable coil members threadedto receive said straight portions of adjacent Walls therein and at theirends being clamped about said frame portions whereby to provide a cratein which the Walls are hingedly connected and readily detachable byremoval of said spiral coil members.

8. As an article of manufacture a collapsible crate comprising Wallsincluding frame portions, and removable coil members threaded to receivethe frame portions of adjacent walls whereby to provide a stableextended crate and to permit hinging of said walls upon each other whencertain of said coil members are removed.

9. In a folding crate the combination of a body portion providing sidewalls, a front wall, and a rear wall, spiral coils hingedly connectingthe adjacent ends of the side walls with their adjacent ends of thefront and rear Walls whereby the side Walls may be collapsed on each ofthe front and rear walls, top and bottom Walls, and spiral membershingedly connecting said top and bottom walls to the upper and lowerportions of the rear and front walls respectivel whereby said Walls maybe collapsed in su stantially flat relation.

l0. As an article of manufacture a folding crate comprising a bottomWall, front, rear, and oppositely disposed side Walls hingedly connectedlto edge portions of said bottom Wall, atop wall connected to an edge ofsaid rear wall opposite to the hinged connection of said rear Wall withsaid bottom Wall, whereby said Walls may be collapsed in a common plane,and removable means for connecting the edges of the side walls with theedges of the front and rear walls to provide a rectangular shaped cratewith the walls in right angle relation.

11. As an article of manufacture a crate, a partition, and removablecoilmeans threading the partition within the crate to subdivide thesame.

12. In a folding crate the combination of aplurality, of iat reticulateWalls having straight rigid lWire margin portions, and detachable coilsthreaded in close fitting relation upon the adjacent margin Wires ofapair of the walls, the latter extending entirely longitudinally throughthe coil and being connected by the coil in a hinged relation.

13. In a folding crate the combination of' a base of reticulateformation, having marginal rod portions, side, front and rear walls ofreticulate formation having marginal rod portions, coil springsthreading a marginal rod portion of the side, frontand rear Walls to themarginal portions of the base around the latter, coil springs threadingthe rod portions of the adjacent side, front and rear Walls together toprovide a substantially rectangular shaped box having a compartmenttherein with a top opening, a cloSure of reticulate formation havingmarginal rod portions, a coil spring hingedly receiving the marginal rodportion of the rear wall lo and a marginal rod portion of the closure tohingedly mount the latter on the rear Wall, and detachable coils forthreading the remaining marginal rod portions of the closure to theadjacent top marginal rod portions 15 nf the side and front walls toclose the crate.

TIMOTHY J. MURRAY.

